New building Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences Hafencampus Kleve

A new university district was created at the old Kleve harbour basin between 2010 and 2012. Modern architecture, old harbour elements and historic buildings form the new campus of Rhein Waal University HRW.

The aim was to preserve the urban charm of the site and to form a transfer from the modern architecture to the open space. This required a holistic concept that incorporated the diverse usage requirements and functions for the new university location. An attractive new urban space was created, which quickly developed into a lively campus. Together with the architects, JKL developed the urban concept and thus won the award procedure. JKL was awarded the further planning of all work phases for all open spaces and traffic areas on both sides of the canal. A local landscape architecture firm was brought in for construction management. The joint planning was realized in the record time of 3 years from the urban planning idea to the inauguration. All deadlines and budgets were met, so that the opening of the university could take place on time in September 2012.

Facing the harbour basin, the campus is divided into the seminar buildings, as well as the central structures of the library in the old warehouse building, the lecture hall building and the refectory on the harbour basin. The open space, consisting of squares along the canal, the historic harbour basin, the promenade and the courtyards between the lecture hall buildings, has an important connecting and identity-forming significance. The promenade not only represents an important pedestrian connection, but also enables people to spend time directly on the water. A large number of benches line the western edge of the riverbank and offer a pleasant place to spend time. In the area of the historic turning basin, direct access to the water is possible via a generous set of steps. Exciting visual references are created so that the hustle and bustle on the square and on the water surfaces with the excursion boats can be observed from here. The campus still exudes the charm of the original harbour use through the use of historical materials and quotations, such as the old crane. The visual connection between architecture and open space is achieved through the graphic banding of the square areas, which can be experienced particularly well from the seminar buildings or from the 700 m² roof garden of the refectory. This structure is a copy of the façade structure of the buildings and establishes the relationship of the open space to the formal language of the architecture. Discreet grey tones and large-format slabs create a homogeneous, calm square area. In the courtyards between the buildings, green garden spaces were created whose planting takes up the striped theme of the pavements and reflects it in a transformed form. Here, freely arranged woody and tree structures were deliberately interspersed as a contrast. The selection of the woody plants was based on the international orientation of the university, with the vegetation reflecting typical features of different continents in a small format.

Client: KKB - Kreis Kleve Bauverwaltung GmbH, Bedburg-Hanau